LETTER #9 . . . I'm an adult, I sewed a button! (General Conference)

Hello all,

I hope you all know i miss you all very much and i just think of stories from home and just start laughing and i can't explain why i'm laughing to my comp because we don't speak the same language which makes me laugh even harder! (The point of this story was so that you know i am thinking about all of you haha)!! 

This week i became an official adult and sewed 2 buttons and a pair of pants!! It was a small accomplishment in the grand scheme of things but i was very happy. Although it can be super lonely out here and i still think of home tons, i have had some super cool experiences and i am learning so much. This week, in my broken Spanish, i invited 2 people to be baptized which was super cool and super scary but such a testimony builder and they said they'd pray about it! Also we have been teaching a lot of Haitians and it's so cool because they all believe in God but none of them are part of a religion so they are very receptive. 

This week we sat on the floor in a little tiny bedroom teaching a lesson in a mix of Creole, Spanish, and English with 4 Haitians and as i sat there just jammed into the corner with a plate stabbing into my side i was so overcome with the spirit and it just made me realize that i am out here for the right reason! 

General Conference as a missionary is so amazingly cool because this church is literally all I do for these 2 years so receiving new things to read, do, and listen to is is soso cool. My favorite talk from the whole thing was Henry B. Eyring on Sunday and i loved how there was so much focus on love and how you can never be too far off the path to come back throughout this whole conference. I am pretty sure almost every talk said something about love and being on my mission i have realized that love is the key to everything (1 cor:13). 

Anyways, my Spanish is still not very good but it really is getting better and i really am happy. Remember to keep praying, reading scriptures, and writing in your journal cause this church is true!!!!! 

"In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, i have overcome the world." 

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Townsend

Excerpts from family letter . . . 

TO FAMILY! 

Hello all i miss you all so very much. Thank you for sending me the package . . it made my day infinitely better and i have wanted more pictures of you guys since i left!! Dad, i was eating dinner in a member's house and looked over and saw Sean Covey's 7 habits book in Spanish sitting on the shelf and i don't know exactly what you had to do with that but i was thinking of you a ton!!! Conference was soso cool, Elder Oaks talk was so blunt and so bold and it made me so happy that the prophets stand so strong by everything we believe and it was nice that they finally cleared the air with all these topics! Also Ballard spoke about the sorrow of death right after his wife died?! 

Sorry I'm trying to write fast because we don't have that much time but the Tabernacle Choir is so amazing and i feel bad for giving Jake such crap about them now! 

I have come to find that i am literally taller than almost everybody i have met and my comp is maybe pushing 5,5 which makes me feel like a giant all the time! This place is so different than anything in the United States and sometimes i feel like i am dreaming but it is super pretty here!  

I wish i could go to treehouse right now cause the only exercise i can do is situps and pushups!! You should challenge the little boys to get off social media and video games for a while because really it does help so much. We should go on a family trip when i get home!! How have you been mom? Has time been going by fast or slow? Do you babysit the babies a lot? Thanks for keeping me updated on everyone!!!  

Please please send me the talks in english! Sorry that my letters are always so jumbled, we just really don't have a ton of time to write! i will try bullet points next week! love you all! read scriptures, pray, write in journals!! Check the photos i send you through my camera every 3 or 4 days! Also what were your favorite parts of conference?  i still need updates on sports! Love you all!